Sony F35 reaches $12,000 on eBay from $250,000 in 2008

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A Hollywood workhorse to this day, the Sony F35 (also rebadged as Panavision Genesis) is a Super 35mm PL mount digital cinema camera and also an extraordinarily good deal on the used market in 2013.

It has 14 stops of dynamic range and a global shutter. It has taken CMOS sensor in the F65 a full five years to surpass the CCD sensor in the F35 / Genesis, which was used to shoot Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, Superman Returns and Apocalypto.

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It's interesting and i think there will be some amazing bargains to be had on this 1st generation cinema gear. F35, RED One... maybe even Alexa in a few years. F3, FS100, AF100, Scarlet are following suit too.... I saw an F3 with 3 PL Lenses go for less than Â£4k!

I'd guess that the depreciation will slow down with the next generation though.... How much better can a camera get than the F55? More than 14 stops, not many shots need it.... More than 4K.... I'm not even convinced 4K will take off for anything more than cinema films and maybe sports.... ISO higher than 64,000 or whatever crazy spec the F55 has? Faster than 120fps? Higher than 16 bits?

The audio world showed that increases in digital technology tailed off and the price did too. There was nowhere left to go with the high end. I think we are reaching that point with video now. Which is great news for us!

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I remember Stargate Universe was shot on a Genesis, and that was a nice looking show. You'd see the occasional vertical flare from the CCD sensor, but it still looked good.

Anyway, I agree with ScreensPro above, that hopefully all this technology will tail off like what has happened with audio. In the audio world, the digital gear now is about as good as it will get. For anybody wanting to spend big money on gear for an improvement in sound quality, the only real options are expensive outboard gear. Old compressors, preamps and valve gear. Technology that's been around for 50 years or more. Even analog synthesizers have made a come back, and with cv gate sockets too that previously died off back in the early 80s.

So for cameras, once they peak, I imagine the only real investment to be made will be in lenses. Cameras that can shoot RAW may become more popular, but in the same way as people have been able to record audio at 24/32 bit 192khz for many years now, most will probably not bother with it.

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Love or hate RED (i'm somewhere in between).... You just know that Jim Jannard wants to produce the pinnacle of digital cameras as soon as possible, without too much concern about making a huge profit or holding back tech for the next release..... He's building his dream camera. The dragon may well be the pinnacle, especially if it is CCD or global shutter. Nowhere left to go other than ergonomics, NDs, battery time etc (non image aspects of the camera).

Once we hit that, and we might be just a few months away.... Then it is gonna be good times all round.

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In the audio world, the digital gear now is about as good as it will get. For anybody wanting to spend big money on gear for an improvement in sound quality, the only real options are expensive outboard gear. Old compressors, preamps and valve gear. Technology that's been around for 50 years or more. Even analog synthesizers have made a come back, and with cv gate sockets too that previously died off back in the early 80s.

So for cameras, once they peak, I imagine the only real investment to be made will be in lenses. Cameras that can shoot RAW may become more popular, but in the same way as people have been able to record audio at 24/32 bit 192khz for many years now, most will probably not bother with it.

I agree about the lenses. Nikon FX format will eventually adopt to 4K video. and in about 2-3 years we'll start seeing 4K on APS-C consumer, and as others mention determine "true 4K" marketing. Nikon just announced AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E & free teleconverter for 1000mm f/7.1 - serious glass for later 4K FX! B)

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What? There is no difference in colour reproduction or sharpness between a CCD and CMOS. There are two main variables. Light streaks with CCD and rolling shutter with CMOS. Everything else depends on the actual engineering of the CCD/CMOS, not the type. And even then you can make a global shutter CMOS if you make the space for the electronics needed.

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Bought my BT R1MX for less than 10k complete package with 40hrs. 4.5K, 120fps 2k, Red color 3 now, great sharpness, good latitude... Ok It will not upgrade the sensor in the future, but neither the F3 or FS700... Just shot an ad with it... Hard to believe I can afford such equipment for that money...

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Depreciation is only happening more and more quickly though, as technology progresses at an exponential rate. I've been excited for a year or two now at the prospect of finding an alexa on ebay in 10-20 years for 50 quid. But by that time it isn't exciting, because something new and amazing has been invented.

I had a conversation with my old man asking him why he isn't buying up all the old tech he dreamed of as a kid now it costs pittance. He doesn't because now we have plasma TV's with HD broadcasts, iphones, DSLRs, etc.

An F35 would be really great right now, but I wonder how long until it becomes genuinely obsolete?